DIVORCE AND FAMILY LAW SPECIALISTS

Children Matters

In a divorce or relationship break-up, it is the children who more often than not are affected the most.
Parties should always ensure that whatever arrangements they make between them they always put the best interests of their children first. Indeed this is the main principle by which the court base their decisions upon when resolving disputes concerning children.
The law is focused on the rights of the children, rather than those of the parents.
Helping people through divorce: it’s all we do. Every case is unique, but in 35 years we’ve seen a lot – both in and out of court. Whatever your circumstances, we know you need reassurance, understanding, and – most importantly – a clear idea of how much it’s going to cost. It’s friendly legal help at great prices where ever you live in the country.

What the law says

If you were married, each party has parental responsibility and so is entitled to certain things, like knowing where the child is living. They can also apply to the court over issues of contact or residence for their children.
In most instances absent parents – most commonly fathers – have the right to regularly see their children, know where they are living and have access to certain information about their upbringing, such as how they are doing at school.
If a couple split up and were not married, only the mother has automatic parental responsibility. The father may also have parental responsibility, depending on when the child was born and if his name is on the birth certificate.
Step-parents also have a certain expectation of being involved in the lives of the children of their new partners. Their rights and responsibilities though are limited.

Parental responsibility

While the law does not define in detail what parental responsibility is, the following list sets out the key roles:

providing a home for the child

having contact with and living with the child

protecting and maintaining the child

disciplining the child

choosing and providing for the child’s education

determining the religion of the child

agreeing to the child’s medical treatment

being responsible for the child’s property

appointing a guardian for the child, if necessary

allowing confidential information about the child to be disclosed

Who has parental responsibility

A mother automatically has parental responsibility for her child from birth. However, the conditions for fathers gaining parental responsibility varies throughout the UK.

For births registered in England and Wales

In England and Wales, if the parents of a child are married to each other at the time of the birth, or if they have jointly adopted a child, then they both have parental responsibility. Parents do not lose parental responsibility if they divorce, and this applies to both the resident and the non-resident parent.
This is not automatically the case for unmarried parents. According to current law, a mother always has parental responsibility for her child. A father, however, has this responsibility only if he is married to the mother when the child is born or has acquired legal responsibility for his child through one of these three routes:

(from 1 December 2003) by jointly registering the birth of the child with the mother

by a parental responsibility agreement with the mother

by a parental responsibility order, made by a court

Living with the mother, even for a long time, does not give a father parental responsibility and if the parents are not married, parental responsibility does not always pass to the natural father if the mother dies.
All parents (including adoptive parents) have a legal duty to financially support their child, whether they have parental responsibility or not.

Applying to the courts for parental responsibility

A father can apply to the court to gain parental responsibility. In considering an application from a father, the court will take the following into account:

the degree of commitment shown by the father to his child

the degree of attachment between father and child

the father’s reasons for applying for the order

The court will then decide to accept or reject the application based on what it believes is in the child’s best interest.

WHY CHOOSE US ?

We are 50% cheaper than most others. You will quickly see we offer value for money.

We are more affordable if you need to go to court to resolve your finances and children matters.

Lawyers with over 35 years divorce and family law experience.

You don’t need to use your local solicitors as we have clients all over the country.

We offer fixed fees on most of our services.

NATIONWIDE SERVICE

Why use expensive lawyers, just because their offices are closer?
We have clients all over the UK.
With us you will be getting the divorce law expertise you need at low prices – combined with close personal contact with your lawyer.